Founders Brewing to reintroduce Black Rye beer from 2006

We remember 2005, when Founders Brewing Co. was growing so quickly that it didn’t have enough fermenters to brew all of its styles. Beers like Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale and Centennial IPA were outpacing other recipes, so in order to foster more growth, the company decided to eventually shelf brands like Founders Porter and Founders Imperial Stout, as well as a beer we’re unfamiliar with called Black Rye.

Now, Founders has officially brought back all three of those great beers with the reintroduction of Black Rye, a dry-hopped dark ale brewed with copious amounts of rye malt, as a seasonal release in January 2015 with availability through March. Black Rye will be available throughout Founders’ distribution footprint both on draft and in 12-ounce bottles with a suggested retail price of $10.99 per four-pack.

Founders brewed Black Rye for the first time in 2006 — it was available for less than a year, but it developed a cult following. And the brewery decided to reach into their recipe vault and bring it back for 2015.

“Because of how quickly the craft beer enthusiast community has grown, most people drinking craft beer and even Founders beer today have never tried Black Rye,” said Dave Engbers, co-founder and vice president of brand and education at Founders Brewing. “Officially, this beer is a re-introduction. But for most, it’s a new Founders beer.”

Black Rye is a perfectly balanced blend of German- and American-grown hops, premium two-row barley and heavily kilned rye and wheat malts. There’s no category that can contain it — it’s a true Founders original.

“Black Rye is one of those beers that we kept coming back to in our conversations about new releases,” said Jeremy Kosmicki, Founders’ brewmaster. “There are so many craft beers out there, but this one has its place because there’s nothing else quite like it.”

Black Rye will kick off the Founders’ seasonal calendar in 2015, with availability from roughly January to March, dependent on distributor shipments. It will be released in the brewery’s taproom on draft and in bottles as of January 2015. Founders’ other seasonal releases in 2015 will be Rubaeus, from April to September, and Breakfast Stout, from October to December. The brewery’s full 2015 availability calendar will be announced later this year.